Articles
Don’t Be a Tragedy!
Don’t Be a Tragedy!
Greg King
If you stop and think about it, there are a lot of sad and tragic stories found in the bible. I think one of the saddest is found in 1 Kings 13:15-24. The young prophet died. He thought he was doing what God told him to do but he believed a lie. How tragic and sad is that? He didn’t die because of engaging in wicked acts. There wasn’t a lack of sincerity to his actions. He was deceived by another! We cannot judge a thing to be true by fellow men. The young prophet took the word of another man, a fellow prophet. It shows us that believing a lie can have terrible consequences.
Suppose an architect draws up a set of blueprints for a house and gives them to 100 building contractors and ask them to build the house according to the blueprints. After the houses are completed, there should be 100 houses exactly the same because all came from the same blueprints. The only way the houses could be different is because the contractors took liberty with the blueprints. If they took liberty with the blueprints, they did not produce what the architect desired but what they themselves wanted. Have you ever wondered why there are so many denominational churches with varying forms of worship today? Is it not because they have taken liberties with God’s blueprint? Have they not added their own wishes and desires rather than what God Himself wants? The Bible instructs us repeatedly to beware of men. Jesus warns in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
- Always test what is said. (1 John 4:1)
- Read and study for yourself. (2 Tim. 2:15)
- Never misuse or misapply the word. (2 Peter 3:16; 2 Corinthians 2:17)
- Truth matters! (John 17:17; John 8:31-32)
